Tipton double leaves Dale in the doldrums

A MATTHEW Tipton double, the second a hotly disputed penalty, sealed a deserved comeback win for the Silkmen, went a long way to ensuring his club's survival and at the same time pushed Rochdale deeper into the relegation mire.

A MATTHEW Tipton double, the second a hotly disputed penalty, sealed a deserved comeback win for the Silkmen, went a long way to ensuring his club's survival and at the same time pushed Rochdale deeper into the relegation mire.

The home side had led courtesy of Greg Heald's 32nd minute header, but Macclesfield boss Brian Horton was always confident that his resurgent side could salvage something from a vitally important fixture.

"What we said in the dressing room at the break was that if they played in the second period as they had in the first they could go on and win the game. The players showed tremendous character.

"It's all right when you are winning but when you are behind in such an important game you have to show your strength and the players did just that."

Tipton's first, his 17th of the season, came on 62 minutes as he turned in the box before planting a low shot beyond Neil Edwards, while his marker Gareth Griffiths was dazed after a clash of heads with Jon Parkin.

The penalty, awarded when the ball struck the hand of defender Shaun Smith, was coolly slotted home with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Dale boss Steve Parkin is still confident of reaching safety.

"We have four games left to keep our season alive and we now have to concentrate all our efforts on winning those games.

"There is no getting away from the fact this is a devastating result but we are not relying on anyone else's results just yet and our future is still in our own hands.

"It is now up to me as manager to select players who can give, physically, what we need and be mentally strong enough to get struck in and do the business."